About 120 residents of Ndolezi Village in the Songwe Region have filed a lawsuit against the government and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) in the High Court’s Mbeya branch. The lawsuit opposes plans to relocate them to allow for the expansion of the Mbozi meteorite area.
Speaking to the press on June 5, 2024, Advocate Philip Mwakilima, who is representing the residents, stated that the court has given the government until June 12, 2024, to submit their written arguments.
“This case, filed by the residents of Ndolezi Village, challenges the government’s and the NCAA’s attempts to remove them from their ancestral lands. It should be noted that the Ndolezi area, also known as the Kimondo area, has never been declared a national park,” explained Mwakilima. “The government must present their written arguments by June 12, and on behalf of the plaintiffs, we will submit our objections on June 19. The case will be mentioned again on July 10.”
Residents who spoke to The Chanzo shared they have suffered a great deal due to the eviction plans. “We have lost many of our relatives who died [from heart attacks due to the shock of the bombs that were thrown at us there,” said Raphael Cheyo one of the residents.
He added: “ I will not waver because I am at home, and it is our ancestral village which we did not invade from anyone. We are in our ancestral village which makes Tanzania to be as it is.”
The residents complained that the evicting authorities visit them at night forcing them to live fearful, “Does it mean we don’t have rights, only animals have rights, we are constantly in fear and can’t even do development work,” said Ephraim Maiyo
In 2022, the government asked these residents to accept compensation to relocate for the establishment of the meteorite conservation area under the NCAA.
However, this process was carried out forcefully, on February 14, 2022, The Chanzo published its story regarding the eviction of the Ndolezi residents, with most of them reported being injured and children with their parents having to resort to living in the forest for fear of authorities who were beating people in the area.
The names of the residents filing objections will be submitted on June 19, 2024, and the case will be mentioned again on July 10, 2024.
Modesta Mwambene reports for The Chanzo from Mbeya. She is available at mwambemo@gmail.com.
